As a Canadian, I'm going to do something next week that very few Americans have ever had the chance to do. I'm going to visit Cuba.

I'll admit, my trip to Cuba scares me more than any of my other trips to foreign countries. I have so many preconceptions about the place. Many of them may be misconceptions, but I am sure some of them are true.

My brother in law told me a story about his trip there. He and his family brought a couple of baseball gloves and a baseball, with the intention of giving it to some worthy Cuban child. It kind of brings a tear to your eye, thinking about how happy some child is going to be going home with a couple of baseball gloves and a baseball. Well, my brother in law ended up giving it to the bartender at his hotel, so that he can get access to the better alcohol they hide behind the bar. Oh, so that's how Cuba works...

Frommer's has an amazing web site - if you're planning a trip abroad, it's well worth a read. Geez, I still can't believe a company like that would put all that information up on the Internet for free.

From Frommer's Cuba:

One of the most disconcerting aspects of contemporary Cuba is the government's creation of exclusive "foreigner-only" tourism zones where Cuban nationals aren't welcome. Effectively, there are two Cubas, a reality that reeks of something akin to tourism apartheid, as many observers have noted. One Cuba is the gritty and sometimes grim country where things don't always work and consumer goods are hard to come by. The other Cuba is tailor-made for tourists at beach resorts and tourist-friendly draws like Habana Vieja.

This is one of my main objections to travelling to Cuba. It has limited access to certain resources - electricity, clean water, medicine, etc. And the Cuban government has adopted a policy that tourists get priority access to those resources. I'm going to adopt a policy of being a big tipper while there, since I will be carrying this guilt with me.

I don't wholly support the American embargo against tiny Cuba, because really, who has it hurt? Castro? He's living in luxury, believe me. It's hurt the people of Cuba. Don't get me wrong, the best thing that could happen to Cuba is if Castro is overthrown or dies. But still, this country is stuck in the 1950's in terms of technology and it seems downright mean to deny them access to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that we all enjoy.